Monday, April 25, 2011

Tambobong Beach, Dasol, Pangasinan



I have come across tambobong beach on a random search i did for white beaches within Zambales and Pangasinan. The two provinces have been a staple destination for us as they border my home province Pampanga.


Since that time I read about tambobong, everytime anyone opens a weekend travel plan, i’d always brag about tambobong and the nearby sites. I made several attempts with several groups: friends, friends of friends,even with families of friends, but nothing really materialized. Then came the holy week, and out of town trips are kind of ‘a must.’

2 am of Wednesday, I totally can’t sleep, and all that goes through my mind was going away somewhere. I immediately pulled my bag, and stuffed my clothes, tent, shades, cap, blanket, and the hammock. I’m done.

By 5 am, i composed a message and blasted it to my phone contacts, whoever I think would be interested with the surprise trip with me. As expected, no one was really too keen about it. That means, I have to travel myself and all I have on my wallet is 700 pesos. I knew it may not be enough, but, I was really dying to get to that beach. I just told myself, I’ll get there. If it means pawning whatever I have along the way, i’ll do it. If it takes ‘no eating’, fasting is a good time anyway. I have my tent, so all Im spending for is the travel. I’d walk for any distance I could. But no matter what comfort I give myself, there is that sure threat of my budget not being enough. I asked my very good friend what time she’ll finish her Holy Wednesday work and she said soon. There! I felt...i was gonna get there finally.

I thought about taking a nap while waiting for my friend to finish work. When I woke up, it was already past 10am and She’s still at work. Whooof! By the time I met my friend, it was almost lunchtime already. Then, she said she’ll have to consult her mom and all that, ....til it got late; Again, a failed attempt. My day ended up staying in their village. By the time her parents arrived, we spoke about their plan of going to bolinao on Black Saturday and Easter. I knew about their beach plan for the holy weekend, but I wasn’t really that interested about bolinao anymore. Luckily, bolinao was totally fully booked and told them there’s nowhere we could stay in Bolinao during that season. Then, if they insist of going to the beach on those days, they might be interested in taking a trip to tambobong in the afternoon of Saturday; Anyway, it’s almost on the way home to Pampanga. I had to tell them too that my Plan B was far cheaper – that’s where the deal closed; We’re leaving 2am of Black Saturday to Bolinao and by 12noon, we shall be on the way to tambobong.

Five minutes before 2 am of Black Saturday, the rest of the company was with us already and we’re so ready for Pangasinan. ...yada! yada! Yada! (I don’t care about bolinao anymore)! Woohooo....a few minutes past 11o’clock, everyone was ready to leave bolinao. Apparently, they were disappointed with patar beach. It was jam packed by 8am; Guests come and go, and waste is all around. According to the locals, the beachfront has also been eaten by the waves, the cottages are less than 2 meters away from the beach. So, there starts my thrill....im on my way to tambobong! Finally.

Rough Road to Tambobong; Dasol Route

Some parts of the trail that are concrete; Dasol Route

It was initially planned that we’re taking the burgos-concordia route, but my friend’s dad was driving too fast on the highway that my gprs connection to google maps could barely get up to date and load the map. We gone several kilometres past burgos entry point, and instead of asking him to take a u turn (along with the rest of the company on the other car), I just thought about taking the dasol route instead. After an hour and 20 mins from Bolinao, we were in the Dasol Entry Point. From there, it took us another hour and 45 mintues of rough road (20 kilometers) to get to tambobong. It was not the cars that heated up, but everybody, because of the rough terrain. Our arrival was exactly 2:30 and 103 kilometers from Patar Beach, Bolinao. Thank goodness, the place was really nice, and everyone was amazed. In fact, the plan was to leave by 2am of Sunday, but as soon as they got there, they have cancelled their Sunday appointments and said yes to leaving lunchtime. They even regret taking the Bolinao trip, and said it would have been better if we’ve gone straight to tambobong.

Ate Precy's Residence


The beach has the feel of Pagudpod minus the waves and several times clearer water. With all the beaches i’ve been to, I think it has the clearest waters so far. The beach bed is very smooth, no random deep slopes, no rough rocks, and the swim area is clear from weeds, etc. You go take a boat and you’d see the creatures under. We’ve also spotted a sea turtle on a boatride to colibra island.

shot of the beach from the road in front of tita precy's residence

shoreline

camwhoring with friends

just how clear the water is

We stood in Ate Precy Bobis’ residence. When I called her up on Wednesday about pitching a tent within her backyard, she’d check with me since about our plans. She’d volunteer to fetch fish and cook and anything she could offer. She is amazingly kind.

dock station in colibra island

colibra island inland

trail on the colibra island borders

As for her place, it’s bare. She’s told me about it in advance anyway, and we were ok with it. Her whole family would assist us with everything, even with our security; Totally remarkable hospitality.
Morning of next day, we went boating to Crocodile Island, Cabucangan cave, Colibra Island, Balinmalok (+wreck).

going home; Burgos route


SOME NOTES:

*Tita Precy Bobis’ number is 09075183062.

*Never take the rough terrain, either routes, burgos or dasol, on a nightime. Apart from that it’ll be very dark and creepy, locals say it’s not safe.

*If you are commuting, instead of paying P300 for the tricycle, ask tita Precy to check the jeep schedule with the driver. Better yet, get the jeepney driver’s number so you could get in touch with him and make sure you don’t miss the ride.

*We paid P1500 for our stay in tita precy’s residence. Her charges are totally negotiable and could make adjustments to your budget. They were so kind we never thought about any bargain. For the boatride, it’s P1000 but there were 11 of us in the boat.

* Jeepney Schedules going to Tambobong (according to tita precy) are as follows:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays – in Alaminos
Tuesdays and Fridays – Dasol Town Proper
Thursdays and Sundays – Burgos Town Proper

*Time & Distances
11:10am 228kms Depart Patar Beach, Bolinao
12:47pm 310kms Dasol Town, Entry to Tambobong Beach
02:30pm 331kms Arrival in Tambobong Beach

10:26am 000kms Depart Tambobong Beach
11:16am 027kms Burgos Town Proper (Take this route; it’s 7 kilometers more but saves you an hour travel; The entry/exit landmark is a metal arch with marks: Government Service Housing....)
02:40pm 212kms Mabalacat Pampanga



I have come across tambobong beach on a random search i did for white beaches within Zambales and Pangasinan. The two provinces have been a staple destination for us as they border my home province Pampanga.


Since that time I read about tambobong, everytime anyone opens a weekend travel plan, i’d always brag about tambobong and the nearby sites. I made several attempts with several groups: friends, friends of friends,even with families of friends, but nothing really materialized. Then came the holy week, and out of town trips are kind of ‘a must.’

2 am of Wednesday, I totally can’t sleep, and all that goes through my mind was going away somewhere. I immediately pulled my bag, and stuffed my clothes, tent, shades, cap, blanket, and the hammock. I’m done.

By 5 am, i composed a message and blasted it to my phone contacts, whoever I think would be interested with the surprise trip with me. As expected, no one was really too keen about it. That means, I have to travel myself and all I have on my wallet is 700 pesos. I knew it may not be enough, but, I was really dying to get to that beach. I just told myself, I’ll get there. If it means pawning whatever I have along the way, i’ll do it. If it takes ‘no eating’, fasting is a good time anyway. I have my tent, so all Im spending for is the travel. I’d walk for any distance I could. But no matter what comfort I give myself, there is that sure threat of my budget not being enough. I asked my very good friend what time she’ll finish her Holy Wednesday work and she said soon. There! I felt...i was gonna get there finally.

I thought about taking a nap while waiting for my friend to finish work. When I woke up, it was already past 10am and She’s still at work. Whooof! By the time I met my friend, it was almost lunchtime already. Then, she said she’ll have to consult her mom and all that, ....til it got late; Again, a failed attempt. My day ended up staying in their village. By the time her parents arrived, we spoke about their plan of going to bolinao on Black Saturday and Easter. I knew about their beach plan for the holy weekend, but I wasn’t really that interested about bolinao anymore. Luckily, bolinao was totally fully booked and told them there’s nowhere we could stay in Bolinao during that season. Then, if they insist of going to the beach on those days, they might be interested in taking a trip to tambobong in the afternoon of Saturday; Anyway, it’s almost on the way home to Pampanga. I had to tell them too that my Plan B was far cheaper – that’s where the deal closed; We’re leaving 2am of Black Saturday to Bolinao and by 12noon, we shall be on the way to tambobong.

Five minutes before 2 am of Black Saturday, the rest of the company was with us already and we’re so ready for Pangasinan. ...yada! yada! Yada! (I don’t care about bolinao anymore)! Woohooo....a few minutes past 11o’clock, everyone was ready to leave bolinao. Apparently, they were disappointed with patar beach. It was jam packed by 8am; Guests come and go, and waste is all around. According to the locals, the beachfront has also been eaten by the waves, the cottages are less than 2 meters away from the beach. So, there starts my thrill....im on my way to tambobong! Finally.

Rough Road to Tambobong; Dasol Route

Some parts of the trail that are concrete; Dasol Route

It was initially planned that we’re taking the burgos-concordia route, but my friend’s dad was driving too fast on the highway that my gprs connection to google maps could barely get up to date and load the map. We gone several kilometres past burgos entry point, and instead of asking him to take a u turn (along with the rest of the company on the other car), I just thought about taking the dasol route instead. After an hour and 20 mins from Bolinao, we were in the Dasol Entry Point. From there, it took us another hour and 45 mintues of rough road (20 kilometers) to get to tambobong. It was not the cars that heated up, but everybody, because of the rough terrain. Our arrival was exactly 2:30 and 103 kilometers from Patar Beach, Bolinao. Thank goodness, the place was really nice, and everyone was amazed. In fact, the plan was to leave by 2am of Sunday, but as soon as they got there, they have cancelled their Sunday appointments and said yes to leaving lunchtime. They even regret taking the Bolinao trip, and said it would have been better if we’ve gone straight to tambobong.

Ate Precy's Residence


The beach has the feel of Pagudpod minus the waves and several times clearer water. With all the beaches i’ve been to, I think it has the clearest waters so far. The beach bed is very smooth, no random deep slopes, no rough rocks, and the swim area is clear from weeds, etc. You go take a boat and you’d see the creatures under. We’ve also spotted a sea turtle on a boatride to colibra island.

shot of the beach from the road in front of tita precy's residence

shoreline

camwhoring with friends

just how clear the water is

We stood in Ate Precy Bobis’ residence. When I called her up on Wednesday about pitching a tent within her backyard, she’d check with me since about our plans. She’d volunteer to fetch fish and cook and anything she could offer. She is amazingly kind.

dock station in colibra island

colibra island inland

trail on the colibra island borders

As for her place, it’s bare. She’s told me about it in advance anyway, and we were ok with it. Her whole family would assist us with everything, even with our security; Totally remarkable hospitality.
Morning of next day, we went boating to Crocodile Island, Cabucangan cave, Colibra Island, Balinmalok (+wreck).

going home; Burgos route


SOME NOTES:

*Tita Precy Bobis’ number is 09075183062.

*Never take the rough terrain, either routes, burgos or dasol, on a nightime. Apart from that it’ll be very dark and creepy, locals say it’s not safe.

*If you are commuting, instead of paying P300 for the tricycle, ask tita Precy to check the jeep schedule with the driver. Better yet, get the jeepney driver’s number so you could get in touch with him and make sure you don’t miss the ride.

*We paid P1500 for our stay in tita precy’s residence. Her charges are totally negotiable and could make adjustments to your budget. They were so kind we never thought about any bargain. For the boatride, it’s P1000 but there were 11 of us in the boat.

* Jeepney Schedules going to Tambobong (according to tita precy) are as follows:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays – in Alaminos
Tuesdays and Fridays – Dasol Town Proper
Thursdays and Sundays – Burgos Town Proper

*Time & Distances
11:10am 228kms Depart Patar Beach, Bolinao
12:47pm 310kms Dasol Town, Entry to Tambobong Beach
02:30pm 331kms Arrival in Tambobong Beach

10:26am 000kms Depart Tambobong Beach
11:16am 027kms Burgos Town Proper (Take this route; it’s 7 kilometers more but saves you an hour travel; The entry/exit landmark is a metal arch with marks: Government Service Housing....)
02:40pm 212kms Mabalacat Pampanga

Read More »

Popular Posts